Multiple-needle stitching or embroidering machine



3,490,398 MULTIPLE-NEEDLE STITCHING OR EMBROIDERING MACHINE R. ANNIEL Jan. 20, 1970 .2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 25,

Roland ANNIEL Inventor year: 91

Attorney Jan, 20, 1976 R. ANNIEL 3,490,398

MULTIPLE-NEEDLE STITCHING OR EMBROIDEHING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet z n m E1 a a Filed March 25, 1968 {5 QE v Attorney United States Patent 12 Int. Cl; Dc 3/02; D05b 21/00 Us. 01. 112-102 7 Claims 7 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A programmer stitching or embroidering machine in which 'a main frame is spanned by a bridge carrying an array-of needles and a drive for vertically reciprocating same; The frame also is provided with a longitudinally shiftable carriage mounted on the frame and driven by a respective motor as well as a transversely shiftable carriage and fabric-fed rollers at the ends of the carriages, also driven by hydraulic motors. A jacquard-type tape has respective tracks serving as inputs to respective electrical pulse generators which, in turn, generate pulse trains representing direction and number of increments of movement to trigger, in a step-by-step relationship, respective electric motors connected with reversible valves which, in turn, control the respective hydraulic motors.

SPECIFICATION This invention relates to a novel stitching or embroidering machineof the multiple-needle type, and more particularly to arrangement in machines of this character with a view to form stitches or embroidery without any pattern limitation or exclusion.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the conventional machines of the above-defined type the desired pattern is obtained by combining two movements of the work (fabric) in relation to a stationary needle bed.

To this end, the longitudinal movement of translation of the work or fabric is derived from the rotation of rollers carried by a frame structure adapted to move transversely or at right angles to the direction of translation, thus providing two types of movements, one longitudinally and the other transversely, by using corresponding cams driven from a power shaft.

In machines of this type any backward movement of the work and therefore the obtaining of closed-contour patterns or designs is definitely precluded.

It was with a view to permitting the stitching or embroidering of closed-contour patterns or designs that it has been proposedduring the last few years to improve 3,490,398 Patented Jan. 20, 1970 machines of conventional type by adding thereto, a third movement consisting of a longitudinal reciprocation (i.e., parallel to the movement of translation of the work) of the roller-supporting carriage.

Finally, to complete this broad view of the state of the art contemplated herein, there is another machine providing two movements (work translation and transverse movement of the roller-supporting carriage) obtained by means of electromagnetic clutches responsive to point-display counters based on a principle similar to that of counters utilized in knitting machines but differing'therefrom by their drive, which is electrical instead of mechanical or hydraulic.

This two-movement machine which, apparently, constitutes an important improvement by eliminating the use ofc ams for all stitching or embroidery works, comprising only rectilinear paths, must necessarily work with cam means when the pattern or design comprises curved portions. The reason for this requrement is obvious, for curved sections require a greater number of stitches than straight lines and this increment exceeds the operating capacity of the counter servo-system.

Finally, this machine cannot be operated backward for stitching or embroidering closed-contour patterns and designs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The multiple-needle stitching or embroidering machine according to this invention, which comprises essentially a main frame structure, rotatably driven rollers for feeding the'material to be worked upon, a roller-supporting carriage movable at least on the transverse direction, i.e., across the feed movement of the work, is characterised in principle in that the rotation and the lateral reciprocation, and possibly the longitudinal reciprocating motion, are obtained by operating hydraulic actuators connected to a hydraulic generator through the medium of a highprecision valve responsive to a pulse generator controlled in turn by a programmer.

According to a very important feature of this invention', the valve of each hydraulic actuator is driven from a step-by-step electric motor (of the intermittent controlled-rotation type) energized by a pulse generator respon sive to said programmer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING For a better understanding of the invention, reference will .noW be made to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an embroidering-machine, showing the various devices for producing the three movements necessary for stitching or embroidering;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the coordinates of a lockstitch;

FIG. 3 is another diagram showing the use of the various movements for obtaining a closed-contour design;

FIG. 4 illustrates a fragment of the programme punched tape; and

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the main electrical or hydraulic relationships between the essential components of the machine.

3 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The stitching or embroidering machine to which this invention is applicable comprises a main frame structure S supporting on the one hand a stationary transverse bridge Pt extending across the frame structure S havingmounted thereon, for vertical reciprocating sliding movement produced by drive means Mm; the needle bed Ps (provided in conventional systems with a large number of needles Ag, see US. Patent 1 No. 2,889,792), and on the other hand a movable structure supporting the feed rollers Rd and take-up roller C producing the movement of translation of, and tensioning, the textile or like web material to be stitched (denoted by the reference letter E in FIGS. 2 and 3). In fact, this movable structure comprises two superposed carriages, i.e., a lower carriage A adapted to slide transversely (arrows v and x) in relation to, and carried by, the frame structure S, and an upper carriage B carried by,and adapted to slide at right angles to, said lower carriage A, i.e., parallel to the work-feed movement (arrows w and z). This upper carriage B supports the rollers C for feeding the work in the longitudinal direction. The directions of the movements performed by these various component elements are shown by corresponding arrows in FIG. 1. Thus,

Arrow y represents the rotation of roller C which causes the movement of translation of the work or web material to be stitched or embroidered, this translation being denoted by the arrow w;

Arrow w designates not only the work translation but but also the direction of travel of the upper carriage B which is the same as this translation;

Arrow z represents the opposite movement of carriage B; and

Arrows v and x denote the transverse movements of the lower carriage A.

These various directions of movement are also shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, where they are identified with the same reference numerals.

Before describing the means provided in the machine for actuating these carriages and rollers, it may be well to explain that in embroidery, a stitch such as P (FIG. 2) is identified by two rectangular coordinates of relative value: quantity and direction, in relation to an origin, such as the needle passage Pa. In fact, to obtain this stitch, the work must be moved both longitudinally (arrow w) by a length L, and transversely (arrow x) by a length T. These lengths L and T may be infinitely small (notably in embroidery), for example 0.02" or 0.04. Of course, the pitch p, although very small, must be strictly constant. Since it amounts to the unit or increment of advance.

FIG. 3 illustrates the case of a design comprising a continuous line or a closed contour.

As already explained hereinabove, the pitch p being strictly constant, the number of points increases considerably when the embroidered line approaches the ideal transverse line of the material.

Moreover, it will be seen that direction of the movements applied to the work must be changed from one quadrant to another.

Thus considering for example the daisy petal illustrated in FIG. 3, it will be seen that during the first quadrant I (first quarter cycle) the carriage A moves in 4 by arrow v and carriage B is driven in the direction of arrow w.

Under these conditions, a high degree of accuracy is required from the means producing these movements, but this precision should .be attended by, or consistent with, a high rate of operation.

The three movements imparted to the work during the operation of the machine are advantageously obtained by using hydraulic motors or actuators MH (transverse movements of carriage A), MH (longitudinal movements of carriage B), MH (rotation of rollers C), fed from a hydraulic-pressure generator such as a pump Po, the motors or actuators driving the carriages and rollers according to the conventional kinematic chains without using cam means, including mechanisms such as gearing, rack-and-pinion drives, etc., provided that any slippage is positively precluded from the transmission means utilized.

As represented in FIG. 5, the motor MH may be a simple hydraulic motor with a rotary output (see pages 194 ff. of Fluid Power, US. Government Printing Oflice, Washington, D.C. 1966) which may be directly connected to the rollers C to impart the rotary motion represented at y to these rollers. Inasmuch as the displacement of carriage B is longitudinal, the hydraulic motor MH may be of the reciprocating type, i.e., a piston-and-cylinder motor, or may be coupled to the wheels of the carriage B to provide the motion illustrated at B in FIG. 5 (arrows w and z). The same may be said for the motor MH, which drives the carriage A.

In order to obtain the necessary precision in the drive provided by these hydraulic actuators, the operations of each actuator is regulated by a high-precision valve V V having its movable member driven from an electric motor ME; (ME ME having a rotor capable of rotating at a constant andextremely accurate angular rate when continuously energized but which is here operated by a pulse train and thus constitutes a step-by-step motor. Each step-by-step electric motor is responsive to a pulse generator GI, (G1 G1 controlled as described hereinafter.

The electric motors may be coupled to the valves as described at page 406 ft. of Servomechanism Practice. McGraw-Hill Book Company, second edition, 1960.

It would be possible to control these pulse generators directly from a pick-up or readout system scanning a tape in or on which a program corresponding to the various movements to be produced is recorded, with a view to make the desired stitch or embroidery pattern. However, this solution, in spite of its remarkable simplicity, is in adequate in the present case for it can neither achieve a sufficiently high stitching rate nor permit suchcontrol or checking actions, or safety measures, as are required for avoiding mismaneuvers.

Thus, I provide a different solution to this problem by resorting to a programmer utilizing a jacquard tape Bp (see FIG. 4) punched or perforated on several columns or longitudinal rows as a function of the desired pattern according to a predetermined code. This tape is fed at a fractionated rate past a plurality or feelers or readout devices adapted to close corresponding electric contacts each time their pick-up member engages a perforation.

The manner in which a stitch is characterised with respect to an origin known through two coordinates which are multiples of the pitch, has already been explained hereinabove. Each coordinate consists in turn of two ele ments, i.e., a direction of movement and a value denoting the magnitude or quantity of this movement.

Under these conditions, one of the generators, for instance G,, can be'cau sed to deliver a pulse only if the tape Bp provides at least two kinds of information concerning the desired movement, one for the movement and its direction (positive or negative) and the other for the magnitude .or quantity of this movement (one or several pitches).

To simplify the decoding of the information carried by the tape, two types of codes have been adopted: an alphabetical code concerning the movement and its direction, and a digit code concerning the value of said movement.

Thus, for instance:

Movement of carriage A.To the left: v; to the right: x.

Movement of carriage B.-Forward: w; backward: z.

Rotation of rollers C.Normal translation or feed: y.

Referring again to the preamble of this specification, it will be seen that only two simultaneous movements are necessary; therefore, a single stitch requires only four lines of the punched tape (see FIG. 4), i.e., line 1 for the direction of movement of carriage A, line 2 for the value of this movement, line 3 for the direction of movement of carriage B, and line 4 for the value of this movement.

The tape Bp is fed by the distance corresponding to the relative spacing of two successive perforations SB (corresponding to pauses or stops) of an additional column of perforations. During the pauses or stop time period, the readout device scans successively or simultaneously the lines 1, 2, 3 and 4, and the analyzer CO incorporated in or associated with this device decodes these four lines and introduces the information resulting therefrom into electronic memories; these include a first memory MQ (or a plurality of similar memories) for the values, a memory mG for the movements of carriage A and either memory mG or memory mG for the other movements.

The signals delivered by the memory of memories MQ and those delivered by memory mG are fed to a switch C the function of which will be explained presently, the signals delivered from MQ and mG or mG being received by switch C or C Each pulse generator such as G1 has associated therewith a counter CG for example, this counter having two (E -E and T T one for displaying the values and the other for displaying the direction of the movement concerned.

Of, course the order is issued to the corresponding generators only if the counter is present, that is, when a detector D has ascertained if the machine can be started and has issued the starting signal.

The function of switch C '(or C or C is to deliver to both sections of said counter the signals necessary for displaying the direction and the value of the movement concerned.

Of course, many modifications may be brought to the arrangement disclosed herein by utilizing intermediate memories and transfer memories so that the information be fed to the counter (or delivered therfrom) only when predetermined requirements are met. Moreover, these arrangements further comprise one or more transfer monostable multivibrators.

As noted previously, the tape shown in FIG. 4 is provided with two lines associated with each of the hydraulic motors to represent respectively direction and number of increments of motion, the direction being registered in the counters until the desired incremental displacement of the respective carriages of fabric-feed rollers is effective. Apart from this modification of the displacement of the work, which can be carried out in a closed or curved contour as a result of the interplay between the carriages, the machine operates in the manner of any multineedle embroidery machine such as is illustrated and described in U.S. Patent 2,889,792. In a brief summary of the operation of the control system, it will be apparent that the formation of any stitch will be represented by an instruction to the motor MH to lift the needle bed, to the motors MH and MH to advance the respective carriages and rollers in one or the other direction and through a predetermined number of incremental units of displacement. The memories retain the information for each stitch in the memory unit mG mG and M6 individual to the respective hydraulic motors. When the order from the master memory mG initiates the stitch-forming sequence at the gates C O the respective pulse generators GI 'GI are energized to produce respective pulse trains which energize the reversible motors ME ME and open the valves V V to hydraulically operate motors MH MH in the appro priate sense and to the extent necessary to respond to the recorded instruction.

What I claim as new is:

1. A stitching or embroidering machine comprising:

a generally horizontal main frame structure;

a bridge spanning said main frame structure and provided with an array of needles vertically reciprocable thereon for movement toward and away from work passing beneath said bridge and adapted to be fed transversely to said array and said bridge in a work-advance direction;

a lower carriage mounted on said main frame structure and shiftable relatively thereto beneath 'said bridge in a direction transverse to said work-feed direction;

an upper carriage mounted on said lower carriage for movement in a direction transverse to the direction of displacement of said lower carriage and parallel to the work-feed direction;

work-feed rollers and work takeup rollers on opposite sides of said upper carriage and on opposite sides of said bridge for feeding a web beneath said array;

drive means connected with at least one of said rollers for intermittently rotating same to shift said web relatively to said upper carriage in said work-feed direction;

a first hydraulic motor connected to said lower carriage for shifting same relatively to said main frame structure in a direction transverse to said work-feed direction;

a second hydraulic motor connected to said upper carriage for shifting same in said work-feed direction relative to said lower carriage;

a source of hydraulic fluid;

at least one hydraulic network connecting said source with said first and second hydraulic motors; a said network including first and second electrically operable valve means respectively in circuit with said hydraulic motors for controlling same;

respective electric-pulse generators electrically connected with each of said valve means for energizing same; and

programming means for controlling said pulse generators to energize same in a stitch-forming patterning sequence.

2. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein each of said valve means includes a hydraulic valve in series with the respectively hydraulic motor, and a respective electric motor operatively connected with said valve for rotating same, said electric motors being of a constant-speed type when continuously energized but being stepped by a respective one of said electric-pulse generators.

3. The machine defined in claim 2 wherein said programming means comprises a punched-tape and readout system including a mechanism for displacing a continuous punched tape having lines of perforations representing direction and degree of rotation of each of said hydraulic motors and readout means responsive to said perforations and connected with said pulse generators for energizing same in correspondence with the recorded information.

4. The machine defined in claim 3 wherein said system is a multitrack jacquard-type programmer, said readout means including feelers for establishing electrical contact upon sensing of said perforations.

5. The machine defined n claim 3 wherein said programming means includes movement-selector means between said readout means and said pulse generator for directing the information sensed by said readout means to the corresponding pulse generator.

3,490,398 7 a s 6. The machine defined in claim 3 wherein said pro- References Cited gramming means includes respective memories connected UNITED STATES PATENTS with each of said pulse generators and a further memory connected with both of said pulse generators and receiv- 2389792 6/1959 P K ing information from said readout means for temporarily 31072'081 1/1962? Mlhgan at storing said information and thereafter correspondingly 5 3208414 9/1963 R-eeber et energizing said pulse generators. gff et 7. The machine defined in claim 6 wherein said mernories include at least one memory responsive to direc- ALFRED GUEST, Primary Examiner tion-of-movernent information and at least one further 10 memory responsive to amplitude-of-movement informa- US, Cl, X R

tion connected with each of said pulse generators. 112121.15 

